A new study finds that wives whose husbands are hostile during arguments are more likely to have hardening of the coronary arteries.

HealthDay News

Study author and professor of psychology at the University of Utah, Tim Smith, says "Women pay more attention to that friendliness versus hostility quality, and are more concerned when it's out of line than are men. Men are more interested in issues of control in their lives,"

Researchers recruited about 150 married couples through newspaper ads and a polling company. The participants, mostly in their 60s, were paid $150 to take part in the study. They also received a free CT scan to see whether they had calcification in the arteries that supply the heart.

Each couple spoke about a particular problem in their marriage, ranging from money to in-laws.

Researchers recorded the conversations as friendly vs. hostile or submissive versus dominant.

Two days later, the couples underwent a CT scan of the chest to check each person's level of coronary artery calcification.

Smith says, "We went looking for the fact that different aspects of the marriage might be important to men's and women's heart health, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was so clear."

Taking out common risks such as weight and cholesterol levels, the results showed "something about the quality of their relationships," Smith says.